Cops: Disney Worker in Fla. Helped Victim of Assault in Pa.

Employee alerted police after woman calling for Disney tickets indicated she was in trouble
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2021 8:36 AM CST

A quick-thinking Disney World worker may have helped save a life nearly 1,000 miles away. According to Northern York County Regional Police, the Orlando employee got an alarming phone call close to midnight on Jan. 9, with the Pennsylvania woman on the other end at first making a normal request to purchase Disney tickets, FOX43 reports. That's when things took a disturbing turn, the worker told authorities, as the caller suddenly started yelling "Get off me!" and "Get away from me!" When the worker started asking the woman questions, they noticed she would only answer "yes" or "no" questions—which is when the employee started pressing for further information on what was going on. When the worker asked the woman if someone was hurting her and whether she needed the cops called, the woman answered in the affirmative to both questions.

That's when the Disney employee called 911, and police soon descended on the Dover home, where they found 38-year-old Wayne Shiflett and the victim inside. The woman told police she and Shiflett had argued about a new job he claimed he had as a fire extinguisher salesman—she said she'd told him it wasn't a "realistic job," at which point he lunged at her and started choking and slapping her. The woman told cops she thought she would die during the attack, per WESH. Police say the victim had red marks on her throat, as well as scratches on her face. Shiflett was arrested and charged with strangulation, terroristic threats, and aggravated assault, among other charges. He also had an outstanding warrant for theft. Shiflett was still in York County Jail as of Sunday, with no indication on whether he has legal representation, per Yahoo. (More Disney World stories.)

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